Adjutant general kicks off leadership symposium

The Citadel’s Fourth Annual Principled Leadership Symposium, hosted on the military college’s 168th anniversary, will kick off with a Greater Issues speech by S.C. Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Robert E. Livingston, Jr. The two-day conference on leadership and ethics will attract 100 delegates from local colleges, senior military colleges and the federal service academies and will feature nationally renowned leaders.

“Corps Day, the anniversary of the college, honors The Citadel’s great legacy of producing principled leaders,” said Brig. Gen. Harrison S. Carter, director of the Krause Center for Leadership and Ethics, “and it is an especially fitting time for us to bring students from other institutions to our Principled Leadership Symposium to enhance our exploration of leadership.”

Hosted by the Krause Center for Leadership and Ethics, the Principled Leadership Symposium is made possible by the generous support of Bill ('63) and Gay Krause and by Steve ('64) and Rita McManus as well as The Citadel Class of 1959 and The Citadel Alumni Association.

Maj. Gen. Robert E. Livingston, Jr., Ex-officio member of The Citadel Board of Visitors, Adjutant General of South Carolina
11 a.m., March 17, McAlister Field House

As the adjutant general, Livingston serves as head of the military department of the state of South Carolina. He administers the affairs of the S.C. Army and Air National Guard, the Emergency Management Division, the State Guard, Youth Challenge and Americorp.

Livingston commanded the Task Force 218th in support of Operation Noble Eagle from June 2004 to January 2005. From May 2007 to April 2008, he commanded Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix in Afghanistan where he was responsible for the training and mentoring of the Afghan National Security Forces. His next assignment was director for strategic plans and policy of the National Guard Bureau in Arlington, Va. His last assignment was as director of the Coalition Coordination Center of U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida where he was responsible for facilitating the exchange between the command staff for the United States Central Command and military senior national representative from more than 60 countries. He was also charged with providing deployment support for coalition countries within the United States Central Command area of responsibility.

Matthew Kutilek is a 2001 graduate of The Citadel and a 2008 graduate of The Citadel Graduate College. In May of 2001 he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps where he has served for the past 10 years as an infantry officer.

Kutilek has deployed twice to Iraq as a platoon commander, including leading a platoon of 38 Marines and 2 Navy Corpsman during the pivotal battle for Fallujah in November of 2004. In October of 2009, Kutilek deployed to Southern Afghanistan as a weapons company commander and battalion fire support coordinator. On March 5, 2010, while conducting combat operations against enemy forces Kutilek was shot in the lower leg by an enemy sniper. The high velocity bullet caused extensive and traumatic damage to every major component of his leg.

Walt Havenstein, CEO of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
1:30 p.m., March 18, McAlister Field House

Walt Havenstein joined SAIC as chief executive officer on September 21, 2009. He is also a member of SAIC’s board of directors and chairman of the board of directors of FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), a non-profit organization founded to inspire young people's interest and participation in science and technology. He serves on the board of advisors for the Whittemore School of Business, University of New Hampshire.

Prior to joining SAIC, Havenstein served as chief operating officer and member of the board of directors for BAE Systems plc, a $34 billion global aerospace and defense company; and as president and chief executive officer of BAE Systems Inc., the company’s wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, which employs 53,000 employees and generates annual sales in excess of $20 billion. Havenstein previously served as president of the Electronics & Integrated Solutions Operating Group within BAE Systems.

Mitchell Zais took the oath of office as state superintendent of education on Jan. 12, 2011. The son of a general, Zais grew up in a military family, moving throughout the United States and attending 10 public schools in 12 years. Zais is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and served 31 years on active duty in the U.S. Army, retiring as a brigadier general. Zais served as president of Newberry College for 10 years before winning public election as the 17th state superintendent of education.

Zais served in a wide variety of infantry units in Vietnam, the United States, and Korea throughout his military career. He was also chief of war plans for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. For three years, he taught at West Point as an assistant professor.

Achieving excellence in the education and development of principled leaders